Selective feeler mechanism for protecting cloth seams



A ril 24, 1934. c. G. RICHARDSON ,9 ,537

SELECTIVE FEELER MECHANISM FOR PROTECTING CLOTH SEAMS Filed Feb. 24, 1932 Z'SheetS-Sheet 1 Z MMW Patented Apr. 24, 1934 UNHTED STATES SELECTIVE FEELER MECHANISM FOR PROTECTING CLOTH SEAMS Charles G. Richardson, Springfield, Vt., assignor to Parks & Woolson Machine Company, Springfield, Vt., a corporation of Vermont Application February 24, 1932, Serial No. 594,774

14 Claims.

This invention relates to selective feeler mechanism for controlling the operation of cloth finishing machines, such as machines for shearing and cropping the surface of cloth, and is intended to provide a simple and efiective construction of feeler mechanism which will eliminate troubles that have long been encountered in the attempt to automatically protect against injury the sewings or seams uniting adjacent ends of pieces of cloth, which are sewed together to enable them to be passed continuously through the finishing machine.

The present invention is in the nature of an improvement or modification of the feeler mechanism disclosed in the joint applications of Richardson and Hogue Ser. Nos. 591,829 and 591,830 filed February 9, 1932.

One underlying principle of the present invention is the utilization of individually yielding feeler fingers, any one of which can yield when engaged by a comparatively narrow knot, club or bunch on the face of the cloth, but which is inadequate alone to operate the control element through which the seam-protecting means is energized while capable of so doing when the several feeler fingers are simultaneously oper ated by protuberances on the face of the cloth.

Since the sum total of the force exerted by the simultaneous engagement of the individual fingers with bunches on the cloth is sufiicient to cause energizing of the seam-protecting mechanism, it is obvious that whenever a transverse sea-1n of the cloth engages these fingers the seamprotecting mechanism will be energized. On the other hand, the chance is very remote that all the fingers will be simultaneously engaged by separate narrow knots or bunches in registry with the respective fingers and in the same transverse line across the cloth. Even in the event of such a remote contingency the only effect would be to operate the seam-protecting mechanism to let these individual bunches through and hence no harm would be done in that case.

This and other features of the invention will be described in the following specification and will be defined in the claims hereto annexed.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated two different forms of selective feeler mechanism embodying the principles of this invention, in which Fig. l is a side elevation of a selective feeler mechanism employed for energizing the actuating mechanism through which the control of a seam-protecting mechanism of any suitable type may be exerted.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the feeler mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view in end elevaticn on the Vertical plane 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of feeler mechanism embodying the principles of this invention.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in. Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail View showing in horizontal section the relation of the upper rock shaft and its connection with the retracted feeler member through which the seam-protecting mechanism is energized.

While the two forms of feeler mechanism shown and described may be used to exert control over various types of seam-protecting mechanism, yet I have shown in the accompanying drawings the feeler mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 as applied to that type of actuating mechanism for seam protection that is disclosed in the Richardson and Hogue application Serial No. 591,830 and have shown only enough of that actuating mechanism to make clear the application of the present selective feeler mechanism to control the actuating mechanism which is used in that application for opening the shearing elements and closing them after a predetermined but variable interval.

As illustrated in the first three figures of the drawings, the feeler mechanism in this case is located adjacent to an idler roll 1 around which the cloth passes at the front of the machine on its way to the shearing elements. Somewhat below and slightly to the rear of this cloth guiding roll or drum 1 is located a transverse tie rod or girth 4 of cylindrical form, on which is mounted a loose carrier sleeve 3 having a series of upwardly projecting parallel arms 3 which are provided with bearings at their upper ends for the support of a rocker shaft 2. At spaced intervals along said rock shaft 2 are located idler pulleys or compensating rollers 5, which are freely rotatable, and which are normally lightly pressed against the interposed cloth a: by a tensioning spring 3, Whose ends are attached to an arm 3 projecting from the sleeve 3 and to an arm 4 projecting from the girth. Loosely mounted on the shaft 2 are three hubs 10, each having a downwardly projecting arm 10 to which is secured a feeler finger 11 of light sheet metal, which is given a curvature corresponding to the curvature of a medium thickness of cloth passing around the guide roll '1. Each hub 10 is provided with a projecting arm 10 which is normally circumferentially spaced a substantial distance from an arm 12, which is fast to the rock shaft, which forms a support for the loose hubs 10. A light tensioning spring 13 forms an elastic connection between the arm 12 and the arm 10 and this tension may be varied by adjust ment of a screw 13 to which one end of the spring 13 is attached. The normal effect of this construction is to press each feeler finger individually lightly in contact with the surface of the cloth while allowing each finger to yield independently when a slub, bunch or other protuberllO ance on the face of the cloth passes between the roll and the feeler finger.

Fast on the rock shaft 2 is an arm 8 to which is attached a tensioning spring 9, whose tension may also be varied to any predetermined point or strength by adjustment of the screw 9 to which the spring is attached and which is itself mounted in a part of one of the arms 3 It will therefore be seen that each individual finger is free to yield to the pressure of a passing slub or knot, which engages it, but since the tensioning spring 9 which opposes a yielding resistance to the clockwise rotation of the rock shaft 2 is of greater strength than the individual springs 13, individually considered, but of less strength than the total pull exerted by the three tensioning springs 13, the movement of one or two of these fingers will be insufficient to rock the shaft 2 in a clockwise direction, while the movement of all three feeler fingers 11 will exert conjointly sufiicient force to overcome the resistance of spring 9 and cause the shaft 2 to rock in a clockwise direction. On the near end of the rock shaft 2 is secured a hub 6 to which is secured a down-- wardly and rearwardly projecting detent finger '7, which in normal position of the rock shaft is yieldingly held to engage the free end of a stop finger 15 which is fastened to a rock spindle 16, to which is also secured a pawl or dog 17 which carries at its free end an idler roller 18, which lies in the plane of a star wheel 19 whose successive swells or projections when engaging the roller 18 rock the spindle 16 in a counterclockwise direction, so that the finger 15 is moved to its rear-most position where it will be engaged and held from clockwise rotation by means of the detent '7 attached to the rock shaft 2. A link 17 lconnected with the dog 1'7 and normally under the forward pulling tension of the spring 17 acts to press the dog 17 toward the star wheel 19 when the detent 7 is released. On one side the star wheel carries a series of peripheral buttons 20 provided in their outer faces with shoulders adapted to be engaged by the tip of the dog 17 when the dog is moved forwardly to button-engaging position. This button engagement is effected only when the detent 7 is in release position and the roller 18 is on the low or recess point of the star wheel 19. Since the dog axis is stationary and the buttons revolve with the star wheel whenever a button is engaged by the tip of the dog 17, the revolution of the button with the star wheel tends to tilt the button with its forward outer corner outward in position to engage the actuating mechanism which controls the opening of the shearing elements, as explained in the aforesaid application. Further details of the actuating mechanism are not necessary here as they do not form part of the present invention and are claimed in the aforesaid application.

It will be seen, therefore, that any one or two of the individual feeler fingers may yield without rocking the shaft 2 to cause movement of the control element 7 through whose agency the actuating mechanism for protecting the seam is energized, but when all three of these fingers are simultaneously actuated their conjoint action will effect the rocking of the shaft 2 and the energizing movement of the control element 7. A continuous seam or sewing extending across the cloth will of course cause movement of all three fingers and therefore will cause movement of the energizing element '7. Of course if there should happen to be three bunches substantially in the same line across the cloth and each bunch in registry with a different feeler finger, the seam-protecting mechanism would be actuated, but this is an exceedingly remote contingency although theoretically possible. Even so, no harm would be done as the three aligned registering bunches would simply be let through between the shearing elements without causing any harm or damage.

This same principle of individually yielding fingers actuated by the cloth against separate yielding resistance is embodied in a modified form shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 and applied to the control of an actuating mechanism for protecting the seam such as is disclosed in the joint application of John W. Hogue and myself, Serial No. 591,829, but in the drawings only the initial part of the actuating mechanism, which controls the seam-protecting means, is illustrated since such actuating mechanism forms the subject of that application and is no part of the invention herein claimed.

The general arrangement of the selective feeler mechanism in this form of the invention is in some respects similar to the selective feeler mechanism forming the subject matter of joint application Serial No. 591,829, although difiering from it in various particulars.

So far as the feeler mechanism controls the energizing of the actuating mechanism for protecting the seam is concerned, the operation is similar in that a detent finger 51 on a rock shaft 50 which carries a pawl 52, normally held out of engagement with an associated ratchet 53 mounted loosely on a shaft 55, is like the construction shown in said earlier application. The release of the detent finger 51 secured to the rock shaft 50 allows the rock shaft 50 and the pawl 52 to move clockwise to engage the pawl with the ratchet 53 loose on the shaft 55 and this results in energizing the actuating mechanism for operating the seam-protecting means.

As in said earlier application the cloth passes upward behind a guide member 25, that is pivoted at 25 and is normally pressed toward the cloth by a yieldable plunger 26 as far as is permitted by the adjustable stop screw 26**. Close to the rear face of the cloth adjacent the yielding guide 25 is located a fixed horizontal bar 27, which forms a support for feeler fingers 30 of which there may be any desired number adjustably secured to an angle arm or bell crank 29, which is mounted loosely on the shaft 28. The shaft 28 is very slowly rotated in a counterclockwise direction so that when a bunch or protuberance of the cloth passing upward engages the tip of the feeler 30 the feeler 30 is swung about the shaft 28 as. a pivot in a clockwise direction and a pawl 31 on the arm 29 rides backward over the ratchet teeth during that movement. Since each feeler finger 30 tends to return to horizontal position when the actuating bunch or protuberance has passed out of contact therewith under the influence of gravity aided, if desired, by spring tension, this engagement of the pawl 31 with the slowly moving ratchet 32 serves to retard the return of the feeler finger to normal position so that the return movement is incomplete when the energizing bunch or protuberance on the cloth passes by the upper feeler finger 43.

Above the level of the feeler fingers 30 there is arranged a horizontal rock shaft 35, to which is securely fastened an upwardly projecting arm or lever 36 in a horizontally offset plane from the vertical plane of the arm 29 This arm 36 is normally drawn toward the rear of the machine by means of a tensioning spring secured to an ad- Mil justing screw 36 carried by a fixed portion of the frame. The rock shaft also has a horizontally projecting arm 35 offset axially from the plane of lever 36 and located in a plane adjacent to the plane of the lever 29 Loosely mounted on the rock shaft 35 is a depending arm 34 adjacent to the plane of the arm. 35*, said loose arm 34 having an elastic or yielding connection with the arm 35 that is fast on the rock shaft 35 through the medium of a tensioning spring 35. The arm 34 at its lower end carries an antifriction roller or bowl 34 which engages the rear face of the arm 29 which arm when the feeler finger 30 is in normal position resting upon the support 27 acts as a stop limiting the forward movement of the roller 34 On the other hand, when the arm 29 is rocked clockwise through the action of a protuberance on the cloth in engagement with the tip of the finger 30 the arm 34 is swung rearwardly, thus creating added tension upon the spring 35 connecting it with the arm 35 and tending to rock the arm 35 in a counterclockwise direction. The strength of the individual springs 35*, which are related to the respective feeler fingers 30, is insufficient however to cause rotation of the rock shaft 35 against the tension of the spring 36 There may be any number of the preliminary feeler fingers 30 having this yielding or elastic connection and the tensioning of the springs is regulated so that when the entire series of feeler fingers are actuated by engaging protuberances on the face of the cloth their conjoint action is suificient to overcome the resistance of the retracting spring 36 attached to lever 36, so that the rock shaft 35 is rocked counterclockwise, thus advancing the lever 36 forwardly to perform its function of positioning the feeler finger 43 for engagement with an aligned protuberance on the face of the cloth- The feeler finger 43 is normally positioned so as to be out of position for engagement by any knot or other protuberance passing by it. It is secured at its rear end to a slotted slide 38, which embraces the rock shaft 40 and includes two projecting pins 41 arranged on either side of the rock shaft in parallelism therewith to project through the slot in the slide, so that the rock shaft 40 and the two adjacent pins 41 form a horizontal support for penetrating the slide and supporting the slide in normal horizontal posi tion. At its rear end the slide is connected by a pivoted link 3'7 with the upper or free end of the lever 36. As the member 41, which carries the pins 41 is secured to the rock shaft 40, it will be seen that these pins afford not only a slot engaging support permitting a forward and back movement to the slide, but also serve as means for transmitting to the rock shaft 40 any rocking movement of the feeler finger 43 Whenever, after it has been moved to its forward position, the feeler is engaged by a bunch or seam.

As there will be no forward movement of the lever 36 and consequently no movement of the feeler finger 43 to position for actuation unless all the preliminary feeler fingers have been first simultaneously moved by engagement with protuberances on the cloth, the feeler finger 43 will remain inactive and out of engagement with any passing slub or knot in registry with it unless all the preliminary fingers have already been actuated but the actuation of all the preliminary fingers is dependent upon their all being engaged simultaneously by registering protuberances on the cloth and practically speaking this would occur only when a seam across the cloth passes by the preliminary fingers. In such case the feeler finger 43 would be advanced to active position for actuation by the seam and would cause the rocking of the rock shaft 40 about its fixed axis. On the rock shaft 40 is secured a depending detent arm 45 having at its lower end a roller for normally engaging the stop finger 51 secured to the rock shaft 50, through which the seam-protecting mechanism is energized. The forward or sliding movement of the feeler 43 to operative position does not affect this control element 45 but when the finger 43 so advanced is rocked upward by engagement with the seam the control member 45 is rocked forwardly to release the stop finger 51 and thus energize the actuating mechanism of the seam-protecting means.

It will therefore be seen that the same principle characterizing the form of this improvement previously described is also present in this form of the device. Furthermore, this form of the device utilizes certain of the feeler fingers to operatively position for seam engagement a member that is otherwise out of operative relationship to the cloth.

In both forms of feeler mechanism the tension of the spring, that opposes yielding resistance to the turning of the rock shaft that forms part of the control element, is capable of any desired variation through adjustment of its anchoring screw and it is obvious that any number of cloth-engaging feeler fingers may be utilized to form a selective control that will function to energize seam-protecting means when a cloth seam passes but that will not so function when slubs or bunches are engaging one feeler only.

If only two laterally offset feeler fingers were used in the first described form and only one preliminary feeler in the second form, the principle of operation would be precisely the same as if any larger number of such feelers should be used. Obviously, increasing the number of such offset feelers would tend to lessen the chance of the feeler mechanism energizing the seam-protecting means by the action of separate protuberances, while in any case the seam would be certain to cause such energizing.

What I claim is:

1. A selective feeler mechanism for controlling seam-protecting means of a cloth shearing machine embracing in combination a control element movable against a predetermined resistance to energize such seam-protecting means, a plurality of movable feeler fingers, each of which is individually yieldable when engaged by a passing protuberance on the cloth to produce a stress upon the control element insufficient of itself to actuate said control element against its predetermined resistance but acting when simultaneously moved conjointly with the other fingers to actuate said control element against its predetermined resistance.

2. A selective feeler mechanism for controlling seam-protecting means of a cloth shearing machine embracing in combination a control ele ment movable against predetermined resistance to energize such seam-protecting means, a plurality of independently movable feeler fingers, each yieldable against an individual tensioning spring when engaged by a passing protuberance on the cloth, the tensioning spring of each feeler forming an elastic connection intermediate the feeler and the control element insufficient when operated alone to overcome the yielding resistance to the movement of the control but when operating in conjunction with its companion feelers to actuate the control member against such predetermined resistance.

3. A feeler mechanism of the class described embracing in combination a rock shaft, a control element secured thereon to rock therewith against a predetermined yielding resistance, a plurality of feeler fingers loosely mounted on said rock shaft, each movable individually when engaged by a protuberance on the cloth to rock on said shaft, a tensioning spring connecting each feeler with said rock shaft to afford light yielding resistance to the cloth-induced movement of the feeler without rocking said shaft, the total tension of all said feeler springs being sufiicient when all the feelers are rocked to overcome the predetermined resistance of the control element and move said element to energizing position.

l. A feeler mechanism for energizing seamprotecting mechanism of a cloth shearing machine embracing in combination with a cloth guiding roll, an adjacent rock shaft, plural movable feeler fingers loosely mounted thereon, each being independently rockable on said shaft, a tension spring forming an elastic connection between each feeler and said rock shaft to normally keep the finger lightly but yieldingly pressed against that portion of the cloth travelling between the finger and the roll, a control member secured to said rock shaft and rockable th rewith against a predetermined yielding resistance to energize seam-protecting means, means for adjusting said resistance to withstand the stress exerted by less than all the feeler fingers while allowing the control member to be actuated to energizing position by the combined action of all the feeler fingers.

5. A feeler mechanism for energizing seamprotecting means of a cloth shearing machine embracing in combination a movable feeler finger arranged to be actuated by engagement with protuberances on the passing cloth, a second feeler finger forming part of a control element for energizing seam-protecting means, said latter finger being normally positioned out of reach of passing protuberances on the cloth but being movable into seam-engaging position by the operation of the first-mentioned feeler and acting when engaged by a seam to energize the seam-protecting means.

6. In a feeler mechanism for energizing seamprotecting means of a cloth shearing machine, the combination of a control element including a feeler finger normally positioned out of reach of protuberances on the passing cloth and movable into position to be engaged by a passing seam, said control element being movable about a pivotal axis when the feeler finger is engaged by a seam to energize seam-protecting means, and seam actuated means for shifting said feeler member to operative position for engagement by an approaching seam.

'7. In a feeler mechanism for energizing seamprotecting means of a cloth shearing machine, the combination of a control element including a feel er finger normally retracted from the cloth, one or more preliminary feeler fingers normally positioned to be engaged and actuated by a passing cloth seam and acting when so engaged to shift said first-mentioned feeler member to position to engage an approaching seam and be rocked by said seam to position for energizing the seamprotecting means.

8. In a feeler mechanism for controllin seamprotecting means, the combination of a control element embracing a rockable support, a control arm secured thereto and movable therewith to energize seam-protecting means, a feeler member slidably mounted on said support but normally retracted from cooperative relation with the cloth, means energized by an approaching seam for advancing the feeler member to such cooperative relation to permit the feeler to be engaged and rocked by the seam and thereby rock the control arm to position for energizing the seam-protecting means.

9. In a feeler mechanism for controlling seamprotecting means of a cloth shearing machine, the combination of a preliminary feeler arranged to be engaged and actuated by a passing protuberance on the cloth, means for delaying the re turn of said feeler to normal position, a control element embracing a feeler that is normally retracted out of reach of passing protuberan es on the cloth, means actuated by the first-mentioned feeler to advance the latter feeler to seamengag ing position and momentarily retain it in advanced position until the seam has passed by, the control m chanism being actuated by the seam and the same advanced feeler to energize the seam-protecting means.

10. A selective feeler mechanism embracing in combination two individually operable laterally oifset feeler fingers, one being normally positioned to be engaged and actuated by a passing seam of the cloth, the other being normally positioned out of reach of a passing seam but shifted to seam-engaging position by movement of the firstmentioned finger and operable when engaged by a seam to energize seam-protecting means of a cloth shearing machine.

11. A feeler for a seam-detecting feeler mechanism comprising a feeler finger normally spaced from the surface of the approaching cloth a sufficient distance to avoid engagement with protuberances on the face of the cloth approaching in registry with the feeler, said feeler being shiftable closer to the face of the cloth for engagement with an approaching seam through the medium of said approaching seam.

12. A selective feeler mechanism embracing in combination pivotal feeler fingers arranged in laterally offset relation, each individually operable against individual yielding resistance by engagement with a protuberance on the cloth, a control element actuated against yielding resistance only by the conjoint movement of two or more feeler fingers to energize seam-protecting means of a cloth shearing machine.

13. A selective feeler mechanism for energizing seam-protecting means of a cloth shearing machine embracing in its construction a feeler finger mounted to permit two successive movements of the feeler in different directions, one of said movements being toward the face of the cloth and the other being in the direction of travel of the cloth.

I l. A selective feeler mechanism for energizing seam-protecting means of a cloth shearing machine embracing feeler finger mounted to permit movement of the feeler finger in two dif ferent directions through the agency of the travelling cloth, one of said movements being dependent on the other whereby energizing of the seamprotecting means by a narrow protuberance on a 

